Summary

• The Death Wish franchise, which began in 1974 and is based on a novel of the same name, has featured plenty of famous actors.
• Recognizable faces like Jeff Goldblum appear in cameos and antagonist roles, adding depth and diversity to the cast.
• The 2018 reboot sticks to the original's core, with Bruce Willis leading as Kersey & familiar faces like Elisabeth Shue starring.

The Death Wish franchise is thematically tricky, especially in an age where people truly seem to end debates with bullets as often as words. However, Brian Garfield's novel and its sequel, Death Sentence, are far more inclined to express repulsion towards unnecessary violence than admiration. Can the same be said for the films, which made the character of Paul Kersey more and more of a typical action hero? Not exactly.

The original Death Wish (1974), starring Charles Bronson, toes the line. That is, compared to the four Bronson-led sequels. The same goes for Eli Roth's hollow 2018 remake, which stands as one of Bruce Willis' final theatrical star vehicles. Like the Death Wish sequels, Roth's movie almost exclusively subscribes to "The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." Then there's James Wan's Death Sentence, arguably more tonally in line with Garfield's books than the original Bronson film. But it's not officially Death Wish, so it's been excluded. But what's something all the official Death Wish movies do have in common? Stars, many of whom were pre-fame. Let's start with a table. Just note that Bronson has been left off of it because, while he was undoubtedly a star, he's the only actor inextricably linked to the IP.

Who Is in the Death Wish Franchise?

The Bronson Death Wish Films

The original Death Wish features a few familiar faces, even if just for a moment or two. On the side of good is The Munsters' resident Grandpa, Al Lewis, as a hotel lobby guard. Other cameos come from mockumentary master Christopher Guest and Moonstruck's Olympia Dukakis, both playing members of the police force. On Death Wish II's part, the only truly recognizable face to play a Kersey ally is Charles Cyphers of Halloween, Halloween II, and Halloween Kills fame.

Then there's Death Wish 3, which features a few big names in both protagonist and antagonist roles. On the former side, there's Hollywood legend Martin Balsam, of Cape Fear, Psycho, and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three fame. He plays a man well-versed in the horrors of his local neighborhood and one quick to agree with Kersey that some triggers might have to be pulled to deal with it. While he hovers between ally and adversary, King Kong and Cujo's Ed Lauter plays the police chief, who is familiar with Kersey's history and, knowing what it will lead to, lets him off the leash.

For macro-scale recognizable actors to play Kersey allies in the Bronson films, that's it. But, truthfully, the bigger names (in the future, at least) always fell in the villainy category. After all, it's Death Wish, and the villain roles are nothing if not a showy proving ground for young actors.

Who Dared Oppose Bronson?

The original Death Wish has arguably the best cameo of the entire franchise. Well, it's not quite a cameo, so much as a bit role. That'd be Jeff Goldblum, who plays one of the ghoulish individuals responsible for Kersey's turn. To see such a likable actor playing such a despicable individual is nothing, if not a compelling dichotomy.

Speaking of which, Laurence Fishburne plays a very similar role in Death Wish II. And, while it feels and sounds morbid to call a casualty in a movie such as this the 'best,' Fishburne has the best death in the franchise. Fishburne's Cutter holds a boom box at face level for some reason, ostensibly thinking it will stop a bullet. It doesn't.

As for the antagonists in Death Wish 3, there's Alex Winter, four years before he played Bill S. Preston Esq. in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. But, he's a minnow compared to the character played by the late Gavan O'Herlihy of Willow and the unofficial 007 movie Never Say Never Again fame. His Manny Fraker runs the city streets, and he does so with bloodlust, which is something the audience believes fully thanks to O'Herlihy's frightening performance.

The fourth film's most prominent names in villainous roles are Danny Trejo in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo and John P. Ryan. As for the latter, cinephiles will recognize him for his work in Runaway Train and as the lead in It's Alive. Death Wish V's biggest contributor in the villainy department is Robert Joy, though the fact the film makes him someone who uses drag to cause harm in bathrooms is troubling these days as if reinforcing a stereotype that has no reason to exist.

The Bruce Willis Death Wish Film

The Eli Roth-helmed remake, which was at one point supposed to be directed and led by Sylvester Stallone, sticks to what audiences have come to enjoy about the franchise. Paul Kersey is a doctor (Bronson's version was an architect who served as a medic during the Korean War) and a conscientious objector whose family is attacked, thus pushing him over the edge into violence. In this case, Kersey's wife is portrayed by Elisabeth Shue, who audiences will certainly recognize from Adventures in Babysitting and The Boys. However, it gives her as little screen time as Hope Lange in the same role in the original.

As for other Kersey allies, there's Mike Epps as one of his coworkers and Vincent D'Onofrio as his brother, Frank. Interestingly enough, neither character was present in the original film. Then there are Kimberly Elise and Dean Norris as Detective Leonore Jackson and Detective Kevin Raines, respectively. They're given little to do but give Kersey hollow offers of justice and a delayed response in figuring out that, yes, he's now out there exacting vengeance. In other words, they're essentially playing the role inhabited by Vincent Gardenia in the first two Bronson movies. The original 1974 Death Wish film is streaming on Pluto TV. Death Wish (2018) is available to rent on Prime Video and Apple TV.